1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device and a gaming machine.
2. Related Background of the Invention
Generally, various types of gaming machines are known concerning a mode of a game and a cabinet incorporating a gaming device implementing such a game. For example, slot machines which are known as a kind of gaming machines include a type on which a player plays a game while sitting (a so-called slant-type) as disclosed in Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-67810, and a type on which a player plays a game while standing (a so-called upright-type) as disclosed in Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-198265.
Such a slot machine generally comprises a gaming device including a reel unit composed of a plurality of rotation reels arranged side by side in a line to be rotatable on each of which symbols are drawn; and a cabinet incorporating the gaming device therein. Further, the cabinet is provided with a display section allowing the rotation reels to be viewed, and an operation section arranged on the lower front side (the player's side) of the display section and having various operation buttons required for playing games and a coin slot.
Incidentally, some of the above-described slot machines have a transmissive liquid crystal display device as the display section attachably/detachably attached to the cabinet. In that case, it is conceivable that the display section (the liquid crystal display device) is shared between the above-described slant-type slot machine and the above-described upright-type slot machine which have similar internal structures.
In FIG. 6, an example of a typical structure of the display section constituted as the transmissive liquid crystal display device is shown. As shown in the drawing, a transmissive liquid crystal display device 131 is constituted of a liquid crystal panel unit 150 composed of a protective glass 132, a liquid crystal panel 134, a diffuser plate 135, a light guide plate 136, and a reflector plate 138; and a liquid crystal panel holder 160 which holds the liquid crystal panel unit 150.
The liquid crystal panel holder 160 is composed of a main body 160A disposed on the back side of the reflector plate 138 (the opposite side to the player) and having an IC drive 152 for driving the liquid crystal panel 134 mounted on back side thereof; a holding frame 160B in a rectangular frame shape which is disposed on the front side of the liquid crystal panel unit 150 (the front side of the protective glass 132), and surrounds a front peripheral portion and peripheral side portion of the liquid crystal panel unit 150 to hold it and is assembled to the main body 160A; and an attachment member 160C fixed to the holding frame 160B and for attaching to the machine body of the slot machine the liquid crystal panel holder 160 which holds the liquid crystal panel unit 150.
Note that the plurality of reels (not shown) on each of which the symbols are drawn are disposed on the back side of the main body 160A and the attachment member 160C. Further, a wiring cable 134a which is to be electrically connected to the IC drive 152 extends from the liquid crystal panel 134.
Further, light sources 137a and 137b are disposed along an upper and a lower end face of the light guide plate 136. These light sources 137a and 137b are for emitting light into the light guide plate 136 and thus constitutes a backlight for the liquid crystal panel 134 in cooperation with the light guide plate 136. Furthermore, the reflector plate 138 is provided with three respective symbol viewing regions 138a, 138b, and 138c which transmit the symbols formed on the respective reels so as to allow the player to view the symbols. In this case, the symbol viewing regions 138a, 138b, and 138c are formed as open windows created by cutting them out from the reflector plate 138. Further, the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160 and the diffuser plate 135 are also provided with open windows 160a, 160b, and 160c; and 135a, 135b, and 135c corresponding to the symbol viewing regions 138a, 138b, and 138c. 
In the case in which the display section is constituted as the liquid crystal display device as described above to transmit the symbols on the reels through the liquid crystal screen so as to display them, a symbol display region where the symbols on the reels are transmission-displayed and a effect display region where a effect image, information and so on are displayed are generally provided on the liquid crystal screen. In addition, in this case, even when the symbols on the reels are viewable (when the symbol display region is separately set as described above, though the whole display section may be used as the performance display region), the symbol display region may be disposed, for example, to the upper side of the liquid crystal screen and a large effect display region may be ensured on the lower side of the liquid crystal screen in order to ensure efficiently as much as possible the size of the effect display region. Accordingly, in such a case, the symbol viewing regions 138a, 138b, and 138c in the reflector plate 138, the open windows 160a, 160b, and 160c in the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160, and the open windows 135a, 135b, and 135c in the diffuser plate 135 corresponding to the symbol display region will be necessarily formed to the upper side as shown in FIG. 6.
However, the symbol viewing regions 138a, 138b, and 138c in the reflector plate 138, the open windows 160a, 160b, and 160c in the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160, and the open windows 135a, 135b, and 135c in the diffuser plate 135 formed to one side (the upper side) causes, in conjunction with characteristics of the viewing angle of the liquid crystal panel 134, following problems in sharing the display portion (the liquid crystal display device) between the above-described slant-type slot machine and the above-described upright-type slot machine.
More specifically, the liquid crystal panel 134 of the liquid crystal display device 131 mounted on the slot machine generally has the viewing angle on the upper side different from the viewing angle on the lower side. In the upright-type slot machine, the liquid crystal panel 134 is mounted in such an orientation that the viewing angle on the upper side is wider because the viewpoint of a player is located at a position where the player looks down to the cabinet (the liquid crystal panel 134) or the front face of the cabinet. On the other hand, in the slant-type slot machine, the liquid crystal panel 134 is mounted in such an orientation that the viewing angle on the lower side is wider because the viewpoint of the player is located at a position where the player looks up to the cabinet (the liquid crystal panel 134). Therefore, when the liquid crystal display device 131 is shared between the slant-type slot machine and the upright-type slant machine, the liquid crystal panel 134 needs to be mounted with the upper and lower portions thereof interchanged (rotated 180°) so that the viewing angles on the upper and lower sides are inverted (in this case, the screen display is vertically and horizontally inverted).
Further, when the liquid crystal panel 134 is mounted with the upper and lower portions thereof interchanged, the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160 having thereon the IC drive 152 for driving the liquid crystal panel 134 and so on (actually including the holding frame 160B and the attachment member 160C) also needs to be mounted with the upper and lower portions thereof interchanged in accordance therewith. This is for consistency in mechanical and electrical positional relation between the IC drive 152 and so on electrically connected to the liquid crystal panel 134 and the liquid crystal panel 134. This is also because the wiring cable 134a becomes deficient in length unless the upper and lower portions of the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160 are interchanged accompanying the interchange of the upper and lower portions of the liquid crystal panel 134, possibly causing a physical restraint such as impossibility of connection between the IC drive 152 and so on to the liquid crystal panel 134.
However, if the liquid crystal panel 134 is mounted with the upper and lower portions of the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160 also interchanged, the symbol viewing regions 138a, 138b, and 138c in the reflector plate 138 and the open windows 135a, 135b, and 135c in the diffuser plate 135 become inconsistent in positional relation with the open windows 160a, 160b, and 160c in the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160. More specifically, for example, if the upper and lower portions of the liquid crystal panel 134 and the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160 are interchanged from the state in FIG. 6, the open windows 160a, 160b, and 160c in the main body 160A of the liquid crystal panel holder 160 are deviated to the lower side and thus do not match the positions of the symbol viewing regions 138a, 138b, and 138c in the reflector plate 138 (the open windows 135a, 135b, and 135c in the diffuser plate 135) and the symbols on the reels which are located at the upper side on the liquid crystal screen at all times. This means that the liquid crystal panel holder 160 can as a result no longer be shared between the slant-type slot machine and the upright-type slot machine. Accordingly, in the prior art, the liquid crystal panel holder 160 is made for exclusive use in the slant-type slot machine or the upright-type slot machine. It is desired, however, that the entire liquid crystal display device 131 can be shared between the slant-type slot machine and the upright-type slot machine.